A is for Artificial Intelligence: A complete guide to deciphering tech specs on your Xperia XZ3

When you buy a new smartphone, the tech specs always sound terribly impressive. Take the new Xperia XZ3, for instance. A 19MP camera? Check. DSEE HXTM? Check.

But what does it all mean? Does it matter that your ISO is sky high, or that your contrast has been dynamically enhanced? What is a SnapdragonTM and how does it benefit your TRILUMINOSTM display?

Never fear! We’re here to shed some light. We’ve listed some key technical terminology from A to Z, explaining what it all means.

AI in Xperia
The XZ3 not only looks great on the outside, but is incredibly intelligent on the inside with built-in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Side sense provides convenient access to your favourite apps when you double-tap anywhere on either side of your device, displaying the apps you want to use the moment you want to use them. The 19MP Motion Eye™ main camera also includes Smart launch, which will instantly open your camera when you hold your phone in landscape mode, ensuring you never miss a moment.

Battery Care
The XZ3 comes with a 3300mAh battery capacity, allowing you to scroll, shoot imagery, watch content and play games for longer. For those especially high usage days, Sony’s Smart Stamina technology will kick in to estimate how long your current battery will last, then prompting you to activate STAMINA mode which reduces energy consumption and keeps you powered up for longer. When you eventually run out of juice, Adaptive Charging constantly monitors battery conditions while the smartphone is charging, adjusting charging currents to maximise the lifespan of your battery.

Corning® Gorilla® Glass
Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5, which is designed into both the front and back of the XZ3 for the seamless, borderless finish, was constructed to be hard-wearing and durable. It survives 80% of the time when dropped from an average holding height of 1.6m, giving you peace of mind, while looking stunning! See here for our blog post on Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5.

Dynamic Vibration System
Our Dynamic Vibration System (DVS) analyses audio data and lets you feel the action in your hand. DVS adds an extra dimension to your viewing experience, vibrating in sync with what’s happening on screen, ensuring you feel part of the action.

Exmor RS™
The Sony Exmor RS™ sensor provides image scanning and data transfer at four times the speed of conventional products, reading a 19.3MP image in just 1/120s, allowing you to capture beautiful slow-mo video at 960fps, 32 times slower than a regular movie.

G Lens
The 19MP front camera on the XZ3 boasts Sony’s award-winning G Lens F2.0. In this case, when it comes to the F-number (Focal length), less is more, and despite being a small number, 2.0 denotes that the camera has a large aperture (the hole in the lens that allows light in). The fact it’s so wide lets more light into the image, and is one of the reasons it’s such a great device for low light photography.

High-Res Audio
Developed by Sony, DSEE HX™ (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) software upscales lossy music files (such as MP3) to near Hi-Resolution quality, meaning you can hear the music as the artist intended. Want to know more? Find out here.

IP65/68
Here, IP means Ingress Protection. It’s a standard drawn up by the International Electrotechnical Commission to measure how waterproof a product is. The ‘6’ means that the XZ3 is protected against dust and the second digits (5 and 8) mean it can withstand both water sprayed from a low pressure nozzle as well as submersion beyond 1m.*

Japanese Engineering
Sony follows a design philosophy steeped in heritage and has a celebrated track record of producing high quality electricals. The XZ3 proudly incorporates award winning technologies such as BRAVIA® TV technology, creating a powerful and immersive device.

LDAC
This nifty codec (a program that compresses and decompresses media files) developed by Sony means you can listen to the highest audio quality on a wireless device.

19 MP Motion Eye™ Camera
MP stands for megapixel, meaning the XZ3’s main camera captures images with 19 million pixels and includes SteadyShot, a 5-axis stabilisation technology that helps you avoid taking blurry shots. It also features Dynamic Contrast Enhancer, automatically adjusting the contrast settings depending on the environment to ensure you take the best quality image possible. When it comes to video capture, the Motion Eye camera can capture reality in extraordinary detail with the world’s only mobile 4K HDR movie recording, as well as dramatic clips in Full HD Super slow motion.

OLED Display
Or organic light emitting diode. There’s been a great deal of talk in the media about the XZ3’s OLED screen, which offers a crystal clear display and makes the content you watch look incredible. OLEDs are made from organic compounds such as carbon that light up when electrical current is passed through them, and are small enough to be used as individual pixels on a screen. For more information, check out our article on OLED technology.

Predictive Capture
Predictive Capture detects movement in front of the camera lens, and starts to buffer images while you’re preparing to shoot. So no worries if you clicked too late, just go back and choose from up to four captured photos taken from around one second before you clicked the camera button.

Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 845
This is the name of the XZ3’s mobile platform, and Qualcomm’s latest processor, allowing for 1.2 Gbps download speeds, 150 Mbps uploads and a 30% faster CPU than in previous phones. Still confused? Essentially, everything runs super quickly!

Red
Bordeaux Red, one of our most popular phone colours ever, inspired by nature. Specifically, drops of sparkling colour dripping onto ripe red fruit in the branches of forest trees after the rain has stopped. Magical.

S-Force Front Surround
This is a new Sony technology that allows for 360 degrees of full surround sound with just two front speakers. The XZ3’s powerful stereo speakers put you right in the middle of music, games, TV shows, movies, every kind of entertainment!

USB PD
USB Power Delivery (PD) is a form of fast charging, designed to be a more universal charging standard that allows a range of devices, not just smartphones, to charge quickly over a USB connection with a configurable voltage and 5A maximum current.

VPT
Virtual Phones Technology (VPT) is a Sony technology which allows the listener to experience high quality sound – equivalent to what is possible with 5 channel speaker system – with just headphones.

Wireless Charging
Wireless charging allows charging over (very) short distances without cables. It’s quicker, easier and neater than wired charging, as you don’t have to plug and unplug each time – you simply place your device on top of your wireless charging pad.

X-Reality™
This technology up-converts TV programmes and films close to High Dynamic Range (HDR) when streaming or watching downloads. Paired with the XZ3’s QHD+ (quad high definition) 18:9 screen, it offers a greater breadth of colour, making your content ‘pop’ from the screen in vivid detail. There’s a reason films look better on the XZ3 than on any other smartphone!

YouTube Signature Device
Every year YouTube publishes a set of criteria required to achieve the best-in-class video experience YouTube has to offer. Xperia XZ3 is a Signature Device, meaning that it delivers a first-rate video experience.

Zoom
Zoom is making the subject of a photograph seem closer than its actual distance, and is technically a ratio. Digital zoom is software-based and works by cropping away the edges of the photo and enlarging the remaining portion. The bigger the number, the closer you’re able to get to your subject.

Have we missed anything? Let us know in the comments below! And remember to bookmark this page if you think it might come in handy to impress your friends with your new-found technical know-how.

*Xperia XZ3 is water resistant and protected against dust, so don’t worry if you get caught in the rain or want to wash off dirt under the tap, but remember all ports and attached covers should be firmly closed. You should not put the device completely underwater; or expose it to seawater, salt water, chlorinated water or liquids such as drinks. Abuse and improper use of device will invalidate warranty. The device has been tested under Ingress Protection rating IP65/68. For more info, see https://support.sonymobile.com/global-en/dm/waterresistant/. Note the Xperia XZ3 has a capless USB port to connect and charge. The USB port must be completely dry before charging.